A veterinary drug called medetomidine is turning up in Michigan's street drug supply.
Medetomidine has some things in common with xylazine, another animal sedative linked to deaths in Southwest Michigan. But health officials say medetomidine is more potent, and therefore, deadlier.
Guy Miller is with the health department in Berrien County.
“You might not know what is in that illicit drug supply, and it could contain these drugs, not to fearmonger, not to scare people, but it's an unfortunate reality," he said.
The opioid-overdose reversal drug naloxone, often called by the brand name Narcan, will not treat a medetomidine or xylazine overdose. But Miller said you should still give them in the case of an overdose.
“Even though the naloxone won’t work directly on the medetomidine, it would work on an opioid that medetomidine could have been mixed with."
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
